The Urantia Book Fellowship


What does the Urantia Book
Have to Say About
Its Dissemination?

by David Kantor

"The time is ripe to witness the figurative resurrection of the human Jesus from his burial tomb amidst the theological traditions and the religious dogmas of nineteen centuries. Jesus of Nazareth must not be longer sacrificed to even the splendid concept of the glorified Christ. What a transcendent service if, through this revelation, the Son of Man should be recovered from the tomb of traditional theology and be presented as the living Jesus to the church that bears his name, and to all other religions! . . . Indeed, the social readjustments, the economic transformations, the moral rejuvenations, and the religious revisions of Christian civilization would be drastic and revolutionary if the living religion of Jesus should suddenly supplant the theologic religion about Jesus." [196:1.2]

While the book does not give specific directions regarding its dissemination, the authors repeatedly express hopes that Christianity can be quickened to the end that the kingdom -- now in a larval stage in institutional Christianity -- may be actualized.

The actualization of the kingdom is engagement in a process which will lead humanity more fully toward its divine destiny. When the kingdom is understood, all human activities can be directed toward its fulfillment. A widespread understanding of the kingdom combined with devotion toward its actualization is the socio-religious force which must be mobilized on our planet to lead the world out of the backwaters of its isolation and into the mainstream of conscious engagement in the evolution of the Supreme.

The Urantia Book, above all, provides us with context -- an expanded understanding of the nature of our planetary situation and the cosmic background and processes which are at work in that environment. How we respond to this information, how we use it, how we organize ourselves socially, what projects we collectively undertake with regard to the planetary environment, is up to us.

There is an evangelical imperative in Part IV. Readers -- and would-be leaders -- must decide whether they are part of the multitudes, are simply believers, are evangelists, are disciples, or are apostles. The answer to this question will determine dissemination activity on a personal basis as well as influencing the directions that our social organizations pursue.

Note that Jesus' exhortations in his post-resurrection appearances to go into all the world proclaming the Father's love and the gospel of the kingdom were not given only to the Apostles. These exhortations were given to large groups of believers as well.

 

What are the fundamental features of the context in which we are attempting to work?

The book tells us about the primary spiritual forces at work in our environment. They are:

  • The Spirit of Truth: [194:2.1] ". . . the Spirit of Truth, who is designed to live in man and, for each new generation, to restate the Jesus message so that every new group of mortals to appear upon the face of the earth shall have a new and up-to-date version of the gospel, just such personal enlightenment and group guidance as will prove to be an effective solvent for man's ever-new and varied spiritual difficulties." " . . . this spirit was bestowed for the purpose of qualifying believers more effectively to preach the gospel of the kingdom . . ."
  • The Seraphim: Function within groups and within interpersonal relationships facilitating the appearance of the brotherhood of man.
  • Thought Adjusters: Their purpose is to orient their mortal subjects toward the Father in a manner identical to the primary thrust of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus' teachings can be understood as reinforcing and supporting the work of the Adjusters -- the fatherhood of God -- and the Seraphim -- the brotherhood of man.
  • The Board of Planetary Supervisors: [114:2.2] "This board of planetary directors is especially concerned with the supervision of those activities on this world which result from the fact that Michael here experienced his terminal bestowal."

These primary spiritual forces are focused on reinforcing and illuminating the meanings and values of Jesus' bestowal. Are we going to work in conjunction with them?

The Urantia Book comes as an additional stimulus into the mortal environment, a stimulus designed to align the believer more closely with the spiritual forces at work on our planet to the end that we can all participate together with our unseen benefactors in the task of planetary salvage and renewal.

The Fellowship is a social structure which we have created here in the planetary environment. It is up to us to make sure that it is dedicated to the reinforcement and support of the program which is being followed by known spiritual forces instead of getting side-tracked in the pursuit of social goals and religious objectives derived from our human hopes, prejudices, and psycho-social needs.

If we are going to achieve maximum effectiveness in the work of stimulating a spiritual renaissance on our world, we must learn to work in harmony with and support of these spiritual forces. We are servants. We are the foot-soldiers on the ground. We can do a lot in terms of manipulating the planetary environment that our spiritual benefactors are unable to do.

An even fuller review of our planetary situation is given in paper 195. The authors give us -- not instructions -- but an evaluation from their perspective of the planetary context, existing trends, and areas of greatest potential for seed planting and cultivation.

What does the book tell us needs to be accomplished?

It is very instructive to set aside all that we have learned about the origin of the revelation and the conjectured intentions of its authors and look at what the book itself has to say about the most important tasks at hand. If we go through the book and note every point where the authors suggest that we do some particular thing, we find ourselves with a list of tasks which can be divided into three major categories:

1. Tasks related to personal spiritual growth.

2. Tasks related to addressing the spiritual needs of our world.

3. Tasks related to the improvement of world political and social conditions.

The first category of tasks -- those related to personal spiritual growth -- are found throughout the book and are characterized by such quotes as:

"God-knowing creatures have only one supreme ambition..." [1:0.3]

"The great goal of human existence is ..." [110:3.4]

"The transcendent goal of the children of time..." [1:0.3 ]

Because the Fellowship is primarily dedicated to the tasks in Group two, I will not list Group one tasks. Neither will I list Group three tasks, many of which may be found in 52:6, 81:6, throughout Papers 70 and 71, and elsewhere in the text. Following are some of the Group two tasks noted in The Urantia Book. Had I included all of Jesus' exhortations to the twelve the list would have been much longer.

  •  "Of all human knowledge..." [196:1.3]
  • "A new and fuller revelation of Jesus..." [195:9.2]
  • "If Christianity persists in neglecting its spiritual mission..." [195:9.4]
  • "One of the most important things in human living..." [196:1.3]
  • "The overstressed and isolated morality of modern religion . . . would rehabilitate itself if..." [2:7.9]
  • "The real purpose of all universe education is..." [2:7.12]
  • "Paganized and socialized Christianity stands in need of ..." [195:9.2]
  • "Religion does need new leaders..." [195:9.4]
  • "The religious challenge of this age..." [2:7.10]
  • "To follow Jesus means..." [196:1.3]
  • "Some day a reformation in the Christian church..." [196:2.2]
  • "The ultimate goal of society's most advanced achievement can never hope to transcend ..." [196:2.11]
  • "The quickest way to realize the brotherhood of man on Urantia is..." [52:6.7]
  • "All Urantia is waiting..." [94:12.7]
  • "The common people heard Jesus gladly and they will again respond ... if..." [196:1.4]
  • "The hour is striking..." [94:12.7]
  • "The world needs more firsthand religion..." [195:9.8]
  • "What an awakening the world would experience if..." [195:9.8]
  • "The religion of Jesus stands as the unsullied and transcendent spiritual summons..." [195:9.9]
  • "If the Christian church would only dare..." [195:10.10]
  • "What is now most needed is Jesus..." [195:10.1]
  • "The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth..." [195:10.1]
  • "Modern culture must become spiritually baptized..." [195:10.1]
  • "When Jesus becomes thus lifted up..." [195:10.1]
  • "Mankind languishes and stumbles . . . because..." [195:10.1]
  • "The call to the adventure..." [195:10.1]
  • "High-gear spiritual performances must await the new revelation..." [195:10.18]
  • "If Christianity could only grasp more of Jesus' teachings..." [195:10.19]
  • "The hope of modern Christianity is that it should..." [195:10.21]
  • "The great hope of Urantia..." [195:10.16]
  • "Mortals in all stages of spirituality ... may find in the life of Jesus..." [196:2.4]
  • "Let all mankind benefit from..." [178:1.11]
  • "You are commissioned to preach this gospel..." [178:1.11]
  • "Your mission among men is to proclaim the gospel..." [193:0.4]
  • "That which the world needs most to know..." [193:0.4]
  • "The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth..." [195:10.1]
  • "Modern culture must become spiritually baptized..." [195:10.1]
  • "When Jesus becomes thus lifted up..." [195:10.1]
  • "The time is ripe to witness..." [196:1.2]
  • "Jesus of Nazareth must not be longer sacrificed..." [196:1.2]
  • "What a transcendent service if, through this revelation..." [196:1.2]
  • "The religious revisions of Christian civilization would be drastic and revolutionary if..." [196:1.2]
  • "If Christianity persists in neglecting..." [195:9.4]
  • "The hour is striking..." [195:9.5]
  • "This good news . . . must be carried to all the world..." [193:1.2]
  • "Serve your fellow mortals even as I have served you..." [193:5.2]
  • "Go to all the world proclaiming this gospel..." [190:3.1]

It is instructive to review the comments made by Jesus in his post-resurrection appearances. The emphasis was always on the proclamation of the kingdom. If we go through his post-resurrection appearances and extract the action verbs from his comments, we end up with this list:

Proclaim

Confirm

Minister

Strengthen

Go

Proclaim

Pray

Love

Serve

Go

Proclaim

Be wise

Give

Publish the good news

Go

Trust your brethern

Bravely go forth

Joyously go forth

Meet new experiences

Reveal

Open eyes blinded by tradition

Draw close

Lead

Serve

Proclaim

Love

Go

Feed my lambs

Minister to the sick

Serve

Forgive

Follow me

Serve me

Go

Proclaim

Preach the love of God and the service of man

Carry this good news to all the world

Could the major hope and concern of the revelators be any clearer? It should be obvious from the foregoing that the authors of The Urantia Book place a very high value on the spread of the religion of Jesus in our world as quickly as possible. Over and over again it is indicated to us that this is a critical priority. It should also be noted that this exhortation was the major theme of nearly all of the Master's post-resurrection appearances.

We should recall that at 5:4.7 the book says, "All these religions are of value in that they are valid approaches to the religion of Jesus."

We need to ask ourselves if we're about the business of promoting an exalted humanism, or if we take the challenges of the kingdom seriously.

It should also be noted that every single paper in Parts I and II, with the exception of paper 44 on the Celestial Artisans, references Jesus or Michael. The authors state at 2:0.2 that Michael's bestowal is the background upon which they will attempt to communicate more about the nature and personality of the Father to us.

 

We can divide Part IV of The Urantia Book into three major conceptual divisions.

  • 1. Details and background of the bestowal
  • 2. The religion of Jesus
  • 3. The proclamation of the kingdom of heaven

Furthermore, all of the content of the entire rest of the book can be placed in one of these three categories. The first three parts of the text provide background and context for understanding the bestowal of Jesus on our planet. The discussion of the Paradise Trinity in the first part of the book, the discussion of the purposes for evolving life in the universes, the detailed hierarchy of ministering spirits, the extensive plans made for the ascencion career of evolutionary mortals, the history of the previous epochal revelations to our world -- all of this is background for a deeper understanding of Jesus' bestowal on our world.

There are many areas in the first three parts of the text where key themes of the religion of Jesus are illuminated and expanded. We are given a much deeper understanding of what it means to attempt doing the Father's will in our daily lives and the implications of the Father's will for the evolution of the cosmos. In many sections of the book the content leads to an expanded understanding of the Father's love for each of us.

A primary feature of Jesus' teaching was his gospel of the kingdom. In many sections of the book we find material which illuminates this teaching. All of the discussion in the book about the Supreme is a further development of Jesus' gospel of the kingdom.

In seeking wisdom for choosing our own course of action in the world we should bear in mind that Jesus found it necessary to experiment and explore options in the promulgation of his mission. "In religion, Jesus advocated and followed the method of experience, even as modern science pursues the technique of experiment." [195:5.14]

While he had unswerving dedication to the core nature of his mission, when it came to promulgating it in the planetary environment he had to experiment, experience failure, adapt to rapidly changing social and religious situations and their relativity.

There are other clues here about the existing material on the planet which needs reinforcing and further development. The construction of the text out of the cream of Christian theology, the structure of the text itself along the lines of a classic systematic theology -- point to the intellectual and spiritual mainstream for which the text is meant to provide reinforcement and the stimulation to further development.

Just as Jesus built his ministry on the work of Melchizedek, John the Baptist, and the Hebrew conceptual system, we can see how the book is intended to build upon certain existing materials in our present world. This is how epochal revelation works. What are the implications here for how we should proceed? Is it best that we try to start something completely new and unconnected with what has gone before, or should we build on those high points of theologic and spiritual attainment brought to our attention by the revelators?

Thus we have, in The Urantia Book, a clear portrayal of the spiritual and planetary context in which we desire to be of service to our spiritual benefactors. How we choose to go about this is up to us.